Gin Ichimaru (clockwork-hound)
"I hate to disappoint you, but dying isn't in my best interests right now." --Gin Ichimaru Gin Ichimaru (市丸 ギン, Ichimaru Gin), also known as Gin Ishikawa (石川 ギン; Ishikawa Gin) is the former Captain of the 3rd Division, and a current member of the Human Corps. After his death in the Winter War, he was reincarnated in the World of the Living. Upon regaining the memories from his past life, Gin entered the Soul War in hopes that he could redeem himself. Appearance Gin is a tall, slim man with a very lean build and sharp features. He has pale, green-blue eyes that are perpetually closed, and his mouth seems to be forever fixed in an unsettling grin. His short hair is silver in colour, and doesn't stand out much against his pale complexion. Personality On the surface, Gin appears to have mellowed out since his time as a Shinigami. He no longer feigns politeness, nor does he riddle his speech with sarcastic remarks and snide comments. While it's still difficult to determine what he is thinking, he is much more straightforward than he used to be, albeit still as reserved when it comes to sharing his thoughts. This sudden change in demeanour is not without reason. Before he regained his lost memories, Gin was Gin Ishikawa; the only son of the wealthy Ishikawa family who was set to inherit the family business. He was groomed for this position from an early age, and even when he remembered his past life, these mannerisms and habits stuck with him. The issue lies in the fact that Gin Ishikawa, despite being a reincarnation of Gin Ichimaru, is an entirely different person with his own personality and history. Said personality contradicts the personality of the "original" soul, Gin Ichimaru. This has spurred Gin onto having a kind of identity crisis, in which he cannot determine who the "true" Gin is. History After being killed in the Winter War, Gin was reincarnated as Gin Ishikawa. He lived in one of the towns near Karakura as the son of a very wealthy couple, and remembered nothing from his previous life. He excelled in school from an early age but mainly kept to himself, only interacting with a boy named George Vega (the reincarnation of the Arrancar Ggio Vega). A few weeks into his first year of high school, Gin's normal life began to crumble. On their way home from classes, he and George were attacked by a Hollow. Their fullbring manifested just in time for them to escape with their lives, althougth the incident left both boys shaken and with several questions. It also started to bring their old memories back to the surface, although they were fuzzy and unclear. Their initial plan of action was to forget that it ever happened, but the next day at school they were approached by one of the upperclassmen--Tsubaki Watanabe. Like Gin and George, she too was a Fullbringer, although she had control over her powers and knew much more about Shinigami, Hollow, and so on. She managed to coax them into learning about the world of the dead, and how to control their Fullbring. They were joined shortly after by another boy named Shusuke Tachibana, who was a year older than them. As Gin began to further unlock his powers, he also unlocked fragments of the memories he wasn't supposed to remember. George was affected in a similar manner, but neither Tsubaki or Shusuke had any idea as to why that was happening to them. Things were finally made clear when Gin and George were nearly killed by a Hollow. The near-death experience allowed them to tap into the fighting skills they possessed as a Shinigami and Arrancar, enabling them to destroy the Hollow. It also made them remember who they were before; a revelation that Gin would have rather avoided. The shame, the pain, and the guilt he held for joining Aizen--even despite the fact that he had done so to kill the man--were feelings he would have preferred to leave behind. They tried and failed to keep this hidden from Tsubaki and Shusuke, although everyone agreed that nobody outside of the group should be privvy to that information. Even after Tsubaki graduated, the four Fullbringers continued to meet and train together. Shusuke ended up being the only one going on to university, with Tsubaki too busy hunting Hollow, and Gin and George finding further education both redundant and useless. This caused a rift between Gin and his human family, and he was eventually disowned. He ended up moving in with Tsubaki, and George and Shusuke joined them shortly after. Roughly a year after the four started living together, they went on a road trip to Karakura Town. Neither Gin or George were particularly comfortable with this due to the high presence of Shinigami, but they managed to stay under the radar without much difficulty. Their purpose for being in the city was to investigate the strange looking souls they had seen popping up in their own city, and since Karakura was full of spirits, it seemed logical to start there. Their investigation was cut short when the Kyuushoku attacked, starting up what would later be known as the Battle of Karakura. Gin and his friends, along with several other spiritually-aware humans were rescued and sent to the Seireitei in an attempt to save some of the people living in Karakura. The battle provided some cover to Gin, as the Shinigami were too busy trying to understand the new enemy and repair the damage that had been done to notice him. He and the other humans were housed in a makeshift shelter that had been created out of old, empty warehouses. At this point, he was only concerned with getting back to the World of the Living without being found out, although this view gradually changed when the concept of the Human Corps was drawn up. Tsubaki and several others were against sitting by idly in the war, and wanted to form an organization to combat the Kyuushoku alongside the Gotei. While the Central 46 was adamant about defeating the enemy without help, it did not deter the humans from placing themselves into units and whipping up a kind of heirarchy for the new organization. Gin joined in somewhat reluctantly, although his demeanour changed once again when he realized that he could make up for his past life by helping the Shinigami win this war. However, he and the Human Corps did not see action until the Battle of the Northern Gate. Until they signed the Tetra Alliance, they were forced to sit by and wait for the war to be over. Regardless, each and every one of them fought valiantly in their first battle. Even Gin, afraid of being found out, gave it his all, momentarily setting aside his concern of being discovered (and most likely executed). Equipment Powers and Abilities Genius Intellect: Gin is just as intelligent as he was when he was a Shinigami. He has a mind for strategy, evidenced by his position as the Human Corps' Master Tactician as well as his history of orchestrating difficult battles (both before and after the Soul War began). He was also able to master his Fullbring in a manner of weeks--something that none of his companions came even close to accomplishing. Master Spearman: '''Due to the nature of his Fullbring, Gin was forced to master the art of wielding a spear. He is quite skilled in this area of combat, and can turn most spear-shaped items into a lethal weapon. '''Proficient Swordsman: While he is a little rusty from not having used a sword since his days as a Shinigami, Gin is still very skilled with a blade. He can almost effortlessly hold his own against the Captains and Espada, and is on par with most of the members of the Kyuushoku as well. Enhanced Physical Abilities: Gin's speed, strength, and other physical abilities are far beyond that of a normal human--the result of going through gruelling training, as well as attributes passed down from his previous life. He isn't as fast or as strong as he was as a Shinigami, but he can still overpower most humans and keep up with lower-seated Shinigami. High Spiritual Pressure: Gin's spiritual pressure is nowhere near as powerful as it was when he was a Captain, but it is still at the level of a Lieutenant. Spiritual Awareness: He can see Shinigami and Hollow clearly, and can also detect a spirit's reiatsu. Fullbring Mamushi Yari (マムシ槍; Viper'' Spear''): Mamushi Yari has adopted several properties of Shinsou--Gin's former Zanpakuto. When dormant, it takes the form of a silver, snake-shaped bracelet that can be taken off by unhinging the snake's jaw and taking the tail out of it's mouth. Upon activation, the jaw will open automatically, and the snake will lengthen into a spear that is around 5'10" long. Mamushi Yari has two signature attacks; Mamushi no Kiba and Mamushi no Garagara. *'Mamushi no Kiba' (マムシの牙; Viper's Fang): This attack is executed by jabbing the head of the snake towards the enemy while channeling reiatsu into the weapon. If done correctly, the snake's head will suddenly unhinge it's jaw and detatch itself from the spear. The user's reiatsu will propel the head toward the enemy at an incredibly high speed, and upon impact, the head will close it's mouth and sink it's fangs into the opponent's flesh. The head only moves in a linear fashion, however it can be incredibly difficult to dodge depending on how much reiatsu was used to propel it forward. If the attack fails or Gin forces his spear to reassemble, the head will come flying back and reattach itself. *'Mamushi no Garagara' (マムシのガラガラ; Viper's Rattle): This attack utilizes the tail-end of the spear, and can be activated by channeling reiatsu into the weapon while swinging the aforementioned end at the enemy. When done properly, this will prompt the spear to change it's shape momentarily; it's length will shorten considerably in order to create a rather massive club at the tail end that is shaped like a rattle snake's tail. Trivia Quotes Category:Clockwork-hound Category:Former Captains Category:Former Shinigami Category:Fullbringer Category:Fullbringers Category:Males